Teacher thrashes 17 students for creating commotion during national anthem

A primary school teacher in Gazipur has injured at least 17 fourth graders by beating them with a steel ruler for making noise and “rehearsing the national anthem” inside a classroom. The incident took place at the Mawna unit of Gazipur Shaheen Cadet Academy, situated at Sreepur municipality, on Sunday afternoon. Guardians and school sources said Abdul Maleq, the teacher in question, vented his anger by mercilessly thrashing the minor students, mostly aged just 10, after finding them shouting and singing the national anthem. One of the injured children said the teacher left the classroom after supplying 20 students with printed copies of the national anthem around 3:30pm. Maleq returned after a while and found the students rehearsing the national anthem raucously. The teacher was infuriated and slammed down a steel ruler on a table to demand their silence and attention. His hostile and aggressive attitude terrified the students. Maleq then proceeded to beat them, one by one, with the steel ruler regardless of which part of the body he was striking, students said. Only three students escaped unscathed. Abdul Maleq, originally from Manikganj, joined the school earlier this month. The father of an injured child said they had to apply ice on his head, back and elsewhere to ease the pain caused by the beating. “The assault has traumatized my son,” he said. Another guardian said his son was also beaten and received injuries in his head. Meanwhile, several parents grew agitated after learning of the matter and accosted Maleq on the school premises. In his defence, Maleq said the students were shouting loudly despite repeated warnings. “At one point, I lost my cool as they (students) did not stopping making a commotion, so I starting beating them,” the teacher said, adding that he did not thrash them for singing the national anthem. He claimed that the students were uncontrollable, he said: “I have repeatedly urged the school authorities to change my section.” Anisur Rahman, the school’s Mawna unit director, attested to the incident, saying they could not accommodate Maleq’s request due to a shortage of teachers. Sreepur Upazila Nirbahi Officer Rehena Akter said beating students, especially the minors, is a clear violation of the government order in this regard. Legal actions will be taken against the accused if he is found guilty, she warned. The High Court in January 2011 had declared corporal punishment for children at educational institutions illegal and unconstitutional.